The Question On Everyone's Mind
by Sackofnachos
Summary: Luke and Leia have a chat.


"They asked me again."

Leia Organa-Solo, Chief of State of the New Republic and her brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker were sitting in one of the more upscale tapcafes on Coruscant. The two siblings so rarely saw each other, outside of some crisis or other, that when Leia heard Luke would be visiting from Yavin for a week she immediately had her schedule cleared for an afternoon to have lunch with him. She was glad. She had something she wanted to talk to him about before they could enjoy the rest of the day.

Leia's whispered remark made Luke pause in the middle of cutting up his nerf steak. "They? What?"

Leia sighed, and discreetly looked around to make sure no one was listening in; they'd drawn a few stares when they'd entered. Luckily, there was no one seated too near them. Nevertheless, Leia kept her voice low as she explained. "The holoreporters asked me again if I'd ever -" She trailed off uncomfortably, and half-heartedly pushed her Alderaani salad around her plate, not meeting Luke's eyes. Her embarrassment and anger flared in the Force and Luke looked at her with concern. "What, Leia?" he prodded gently, forgetting his steak.

Leia met his gaze and pursed her lips. A healthy sip - more like a gulp - of wine made it's way down her throat. Carefully, Leia set the glass down before answering. "They asked me if we'd ever slept together."

The explosion from Luke was instantaneous and drew stares. "_WHAT_?"

Leia looked around and put up her hand. "_Shhh_!"

Luke ignored the stares and kept his own pointed at his sister. He, too, lowered his voice. "The holoreporters asked you if we'd ever -?"

"_Yes_," she hissed.

Luke was utterly bewildered. "Wh-Why? Where would they ever get that idea from? That's...really disgusting. Uh, no offense, Leia."

Leia gave him a sour look. "None taken, _brother_."Luke winced. Leia sighed.

"It appears, dear brother, that the latest gossip making the rounds on Coruscant declares that we were -" Leia grimaced "- _lovers_ during the Rebellion."

Although Leia could not read her brother through his Force shields, she didn't have to; the shock on his face spoke volumes.

"That's not all," she went on grimly. Luke _really _began to look anxious. "We were supposedly part of a -" Again, Leia looked around, and then spat the words as if they left a bad taste in her mouth "- a l_ove triangle_." A thundercloud appeared over his sister's head, Luke was sure of it. Her glare narrowed as she dropped the bombshell. "With _Han Solo_."

Unable to help himself Luke burst into laughter.

"It's not funny, Luke!"

"It is to me, _dear sister_!" Luke snickered on as Leia glared, and for a poignant moment, Leia couldn't remember the last time her brother had laughed so. After a moment, the stiff line of her lips softened into a small smile. She could never be upset when she heard the sound of Luke's staccato chuckle.

"Well, it really isn't funny," she insisted, once Luke calmed down enough to listen. "These reporters say they have witnesses who saw..."

At the true alarm in Leia's Force signature, Luke became serious.

"Saw what, Leia?"

She looked away for a moment and then rolled her eyes. "They say they saw me kiss you." The statement was made through gritted teeth, and Leia's gaze held a wealth of emotions - unusual for the Chief of State, who guarded her expressions so carefully.

Luke flushed, remembering that day on the frozen hell of Hoth; he had never felt so warm - even if Leia only did it to make Han jealous.

Leia nodded, picking up on his train of thought through the Force. "That's the place."

"Hm."

"That's all you have to say? 'Hm'?"

Luke shrugged helplessly. "Just tell them that the kiss is true and nothing else happened."

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"They won't believe me!"

Luke gave her an admonishing look. "Leia. You're the Chief of State. They won't call you a liar."

Leia sighed. "Luke you don't understand. I can't just go around admitting I kissed my brother way back when. Sithspit! They'll have a field day if they know it's true!"

"It sounds like they're having a field day now."

Grimacing, Leia admitted, "Yes. But they don't know for sure, or they wouldn't have asked me. I doubt they have an actual witness. I think their 'witness' may just have overheard you or Han blabbing."

Damping down his irritation that she'd think he would kiss and tell (Han yes, him no), Luke waited for her to continue the explanation, but she didn't. "And that's better?" he asked, confused.

Rolling her eyes at his naivete, she answered, "Yes. Because if they knew it was true, it would be a much bigger deal. I can't have it being a confirmed fact that I kissed my own brother. At least, not until I'm out of office," she muttered.

"Leia. You did kiss me."

"I know!" she snapped.

"But it doesn't matter because _we _didn't know we were related. How could we?" Luke reasoned.

"I somehow doubt, dear brother, that little nugget will make the tabloids should I say anything about this." Before Luke could open his mouth to suggest that she not say anything at all, she held up her hand. "And I'm going to have to give an answer on it soon because it's not just the tabloid trash anymore that's asking. There are reputable services out there wanting to know now, too." Her voice was disgusted. "Galactic News Network, for Sith's sake! Can you believe that?"

Luke shook his head, and pushed his nerf steak away. "No. Why would something like this be news fifteen years later?" He was quite disconcerted.

Leia gave her brother a sardonic smirk. "Don't you know? We're the 'Heroes of the Rebellion.'"

Luke sighed. "Well, it doesn't look like you're going to get out of making a statement, so why don't you just tell them the truth? You kissed me once, but nothing beyond that ever happened between us." At Leia's rising protest, it was Luke's turn to hold up a staying hand. Luke took a deep breath and smiled. "Leia. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We didn't know. I ask again: how could we? The odds against us ever even meeting were..." Luke fished around for a suitable word. "...astronomical. Besides being the will of the Force, of course," he added.

"I know that, Luke, but - "

Luke cut her off and continued earnestly. "It's not like we were given clues. We didn't even have the same last name. The only thing I knew when I first saw you in that hologram was that you were a beautiful princess and you needed help. What was I supposed to think when I actually met you? 'Ah, this must be my long-lost, hidden-away twin sister I've never even heard about! Isn't it amazing how alike we look?'"

Leia giggled and Luke went on. "No. I thought you were wonderful - brave and strong and funny. And you sure put Han in his place! I was just a lowly farmboy and you were so kind to me. I was completely smitten."

Leia reached over and squeezed his hand. "Oh, Luke."

Luke squeezed back and returned her smile. "The long-lost twin sister was my second guess, though."

At this, Leia laughed delightedly.

"Besides, you only did it to make Han jealous," added Luke.

Again, Leia grinned and then sobered with a sigh. "You're right, Luke. I should just tell them and end it."

"But...?"

"But I really resent it. It's none of their business what did - or didn't - happen between us."

Luke shrugged. "You're the politician."

Leia frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Again, Luke shrugged. "Image is important to you. If you let the mystery go on it will only hurt your image by making you appear like you have something to hide. You're the one whose career will be hurt by this. In most cultures, it _is _bad form to sleep with your brother. It's best to take the mystery out of this one as soon as possible, I think."

Leia glared at him suspiciously. "And you're not bothered by this at all?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope. I was just the kissee. I'm totally innocent in this entire matter."

"Luke Skywalker -"

"Besides," Luke cheerfully continued, "I'm from Tatooine. It's perfectly normal there."

Leia's explosion of laughter had many heads turning.

Luke winked and they spent the rest of their lunch in amiable chat.


End file.
